Continuing Professional Education for Volunteers and Members within IEEE MCE

Conferences
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IEEE Meetings, Conferences & Events (MCE) is a dedicated partner made up of event industry experts driven to shape innovative and high-quality events, over 2,000 annually worldwide. As a part of IEEE’s Technical Activities department, the IEEE Photonics Society partners with MCE to assist with event management including registration, event logistics, audience development, and program design, as well as sponsorship and technical program management.

Conferences are a part of IEEE’s heritage and continue to be a catalyst for innovation today. So, in order to better prepare members and volunteers who steer conferences, MCE has begun to offer Continuing Professional Education (CPU) online courses on a variety of different subject matters. MCE sets out to make the organizing experience easier, more effective, and enjoyable by providing learning opportunities for conference organizers of all experience levels, locations, organizational units, or role.

The courses are self-paced and provide volunteer organizers with in-depth information and skills on specific conference functions or roles. Narrated by a subject-matter expert, the modules are 45 minutes or less in length, including knowledge checks and a final quiz. Professional-development hours and certificates are offered upon completion.

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Courses are available in the following conference topical areas (but not limited to): Conference Sponsorship; the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Process; Managing Conference Finances and Audits; Planning a Technical Program; Plagiarism Screening; Paper Processing and Preparing Conference Proceedings for submission to IEEE Xplore®; etc. The is also an IEEE Conference Organizer Timeline tool that guides volunteers on how and when to start planning. There are courses on budgets, contracts, registration, and more, categorized by volunteer role.

The courses are accessible at the IEEE Center for Leadership Excellence (CLE). All courses are offered at no cost but require registration via an IEEE Account. Creating an IEEE Account is fast and simple.

To learn more about the MCE Conference Education Library and other MCE related resources, click here.

In addition, the IEEE Photonics Society offers Technical Co-Sponsorship options for chapters and local organizers. This indicates a shared involvement in the technical, publicity and administrative areas of the conference, though the Society has no financial involvement with the event.  In addition, the conference agrees to publish its proceedings with IEEE and a member of the Photonics Society must assume an active role in the development of the technical program. 

To request technical co-sponsorship, you must complete an IEEE Conference Application.  To learn more and apply for technical co-sponsorship, please refer to the following:

IEEE Conference Application – Please allow yourself 30 minutes to complete this online form. Upon submission, your application will be reviewed by the IPS Conference Council.

Information about the IEEE Conference Application – Information you will need to complete the IEEE Conference Application

If you have any questions, please reach out to PhotonicsSociety@ieee.org for guidance.